Nivea Pulls "White Is Purity" Ad for One Obvious Reason

Hmm. What could it be?

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Complex Original

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Last week, Nivea released their latest "White Is Purity" campaign on Facebook with the following caption: "Keep it clean, keep bright. Don’t let anything ruin it, #Invisible." 

At any point before pushing "Send" on that Facebook post, did anyone in that German skin care company not ask one of their colleagues, ​"Hey Thomas, do you think anyone is going to take this campaign the wrong way?"


One week later, Nivea pulled the campaign amid backlash that declaring "White Is Purity" is—now hear me out—kinda racist. The brand tried explaining that the ad directed at customers in the Middle East wasn't meant to be perceived as offensive.    

Nivea's parent company, Beiersdorf Global AG, have issued an apology to the Washington Post for the ad. “That image was inappropriate and not reflective of our values as a company. We deeply apologize for that and have removed the post,” the statement said. “Diversity and inclusivity are crucial values of NIVEA. We take pride in creating products that promote beauty in all forms. Discrimination of any kind is simply not acceptable to us as a company, as employees, or as individuals.”

Now, the remaining ad as part of their #Invisible campaign on the Nivea Middle East Facebook page is this, interesting, one. 

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